Improvement in road-scrapers



H. W. BALL. Road-Scraper Patentd Nov. 4, 1879.

In M12302":

, Wit/26w 6J1 Hiram WBaZZ,

N PETERS, PNOTD-UTHQGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, u c.

tjrnimnni- STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HIRAM W. BALL, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES KILBOURNE,

OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN ROAD-SCRAPERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 221,273, dated November 4, 1879; application filed September 27, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, HIRAM NV. BALL, of Columbus, in the State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Road- Scrapers, of which the following is a specificat-ion.

My invention hasparticular reference to th scoop of a road-scraper. I

It has been usual, in order to avoid the weight and bulk which would be imparted to the scoop were cast metal used to any extent in its construction, to make such portions of the scoop as are liable to wear, and are required to enter the ground, of sheet or wrought metal.

Heretofore, however, such scoops have been made of two or more pieces bolted or riveted or otherwise fastened together. So far as my knowledge goes the said scoops, in all road-scrapers now in the market or in use, are made either of separate pieces of metal riveted together, or partly of wood and partly of sheet metal, the wooden parts composing the back or both back and sides of the scraper.

A scoop thus made is open to decided ob jection on several accounts. It is not so strong as it should be, and very liable to have its parts loosened and made shaky by use. The bolting or riveting needed to secure to gether its various parts is an expense, andis often imperfectly done. The scoop is expensive, and the angles formed at the points of junction of itsseveral parts retain the dirt, and are an obstacle to the proper unloading or emptying of the scoop.

It is my aim to cheapen the cost of production of thescoop; to obtain for the scoop the maximum durability and strength without increased material, and to give it such form at the same time as will cause it to readily unload and prevent dirt from sticking to and accumulating within it.

To this end I form the scoop back, sides, and bottom of a single piece of steel, thus producing ascoop without seam or joint, and I round its surface so that there shall be no interior angles, the sides, bottom, and

This shape also imparts to the scoop great strength and durability.

The scoop is made from a sheet-steel blank of proper dimensions, which is swaged or formed to the required shape, and subsequently finished in any desired way.

I prefer to employ for its manufacture a drop-press, the drop weighing, say, a ton or more, having its lower end formed or pro vided with a die of proper shape, to operate in conjunction with a fixed or stationary mold or matrix below, the blank being placed over or upon the mold and there held in place by proper clamps, as is usual in striking up heavy sheet-metal articles.

I can thus produce rapidly and economi call y road-scraper scoops which possess striking advantages over the scoops heretofore in use in many respects, particularly in those re spects heretofore referred to.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown a scoop, A, made in conformity with my invention, said scoop being represented as com bined with bail-bars B and handles 0, to form a revolving road-scraper. The handles, bailbars, and scoop are hung in common centers a, and there are looking devices operated by the upward movement of the handles to disengage, so as to release the scoop.

Inasmuch as looking devices thus organized and operating are in extensive use, it is not deemed necessary to further refer to them. I would say, however, that the rear central catch, 1), on the back of the scoop, may be formed from the metal of which the scoop is made and in one piece therewith, the blank being properly formed, so that when the scoop is struck up therefrom there will be a tongue or thickened part or projection at the proper point on the back, from which the catch Z1 may subsequently be shaped and finished.

Runners can be readily fastened to the bottom of the scoop by suitable means, and the scoop can be fitted with any desired appliances, such as the grabs or points a, and can be connected to the draft-frame in any desired way.

1 am aware that scoops have been made of cast metal in one piece.

I am also aware that articles of variouskinds,

such as shovels trays, and the like, have been joint, or interior angle, substantially as and struck up from a single piece of sheet metal. for the purposes liereinbefore set forth.

I claim none of these things. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set Having described my invention, What I my hand this 19th day of September, A. D.

claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat- 187i).

ent, is HIRAM XV. BALL.

A scoop for rozul-sera evers having upturned Witnesses: sides and back, and swaged or struck up from TILLIAM M. KURTZ, a single piece of sheet-steel without seams, ()TWAY WVATSON. 

